Ruth Davidson has issued an ultimatum to Nicola Sturgeon to give judges the power to ensure Scotland’s worst killers die in jail after the murderer of schoolgirl Paige Doherty had his sentence cut by four years.

The Scottish Tory leader warned that unless the First Minister tabled legislation allowing the imposition of “whole life tariffs” in the courts then her party would attempt to do so by introducing a private members’ Bill.

Her family described the ruling by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh as “heart-breaking” and Ms Davidson argued that life sentences without parole were necessary to ensure “the worst criminals are kept off our streets forever."

Ms Sturgeon said her government would "reflect further" on the issue and expressed her sympathy for Paige’s family, but noted that there was no guarantee that the court would have imposed a whole life tariff on Leatham if the option had been available.

Her spokesman later said she would wait for Douglas Ross, the Tories’ Shadow Justice Minister, to publish his Bill and study the details before making a decision. A Scottish Government spokesman added that judges can already impose sentences extending beyond a killer’s expected lifespan.

A private members’ Bill can be taken forward for parliament’s consideration with the support of 18 MSPs and three of Holyrood’s parties, meaning the Tories would need the backing of two other parties.

Paige Doherty, 15, was murdered by John Leatham Credit:
PA

Appeal court judge Lord Turnbull ruled last week that Leatham’s original sentence for the March 2016 murder had been “excessive” and “inconsistent with sentencing practice.

He said Leatham had been a “family man of previous good character”, was a first-time offender and had expressed remorse. The judge also ruled that the fact Paige’s murder was not premeditated should have been taken into account.

But, speaking at First Minister's Questions, Ms Davidson argued that it was "entirely unacceptable" that Paige's family had seen her killer's sentence being reduced "simply because he was not as bad of a killer as others".

The Scottish Tory leader said: "As it stands, our judges do not have the tool of a whole-life tariff at their disposal and we say that we should.

"We can sit in this Parliament and we can wring our hands and we can express outrage every time something like this happens, or we can do something about it. I want to do something about it."

Pledging that her party would act if the Scottish Government did not, she added: "We need to stand up for families who see sentences for murder cut less than a year after they have been handed down and we should change the law so that families like Paige Doherty's feel that the law is tipping back in their favour and that the worst criminals are kept off our streets forever."

Ms Sturgeon said her “heart breaks” for Paige’s family but emphasised that the independence of the judiciary meant there would always be some cases where sentencing decisions come in for criticism.

However, she also pledged that her government would "continue to look with an open mind at proposals that are brought forward for further reform".

Her spokesman later said: ‘If there is to be a members’ bill we will see what provisions are in it. The First Minister made clear she is certainly not unsympathetic to some of the issues raised by Ruth Davidson.”